Posts archive for April, 2018

WE’VE COMPILED THE TIPS WE BELIEVE WILL HELP YOU MOST IN GETTING YOUR LOGBOOK HOURS UP AND PREPARE YOU FOR YOUR DRIVING TEST.

Before taking a driving test, you need to have recorded 120 hours of driving. While this may seem dauntingly systematic and tedious, it’s crucial that you complete all of the 120 hours not just to do the driving test but to improve your driving.
Luckily, there are many different ways you can get those hours in. These tips will not only help you quickly and consistently get your hours in, but will make sure you do them in the most efficient way possible.

Driving Lessons With An LTrent Instructor

Every hour of a driving lesson that you do with an LTrent instructor grants you an additional 2 hours towards your logbook. Hence, 1 hour with one of our driving instructors counts as 3 logbook hours.
This caps at 10 driving instructor hours (30 logbook hours). But you can easily record 30 hours into your logbook simply just by booking with us!Get My Bonus Driving Instructor Hours NowBuy My 10 Lesson Package Now

Safer Drivers Course

Once you’ve driven over 50 hours, you’re eligible to do the Safer Drivers Course — which gives you 20 logbook hours upon completion.
It’s a combined theoretical and practical course where the course is broken down into two parts:

Discussion — 3 hour discussion with our facilitator and other learner drivers on how to reduce risks while driving

Coaching — 2 hour in-vehicle coaching session where you’ll be paired with another learner as well as a coach in order to practice safe driving techniques and behaviours

Commit Consistently

If you’re just starting to drive and you’re not too excited, you might find it hard to make time to drive. This is natural as with making any changes in your life. But if you drive consistently, driving can become an effortless habit.
Just like how you brush your teeth as soon as you wake up, if you set aside a consistent time to drive you’ll be able to find the motivation to drive easily.
Habits start with a trigger before the routine is acted out. In the brushing teeth example, the trigger is waking up and the routine is the act of brushing your teeth.
The routine that we want to practice is driving. Here are examples of triggers you can add to your life:

Finishing school

Waking up on the weekend

Completing your homework

Right after the trigger is set off, you go into your driving routine. Creating a consistent routine to drive will drastically help you get your logbook hours up by reducing your resistance towards driving.

Drive When You Practically Can

Along with committing consistently, you can also drive whenever it is practical for you.
A key thing to remember is that if you regularly get driven by a full licence driver, you can swap places with them and drive instead.
For example, if you usually get driven by your parents, swap places with them. If your friend drives to the shops with you every week, swap places with them. If you get picked up by your parents after you hang out with your friends, swap places with them.
This tip is extremely easy to implement because it doesn’t involve much change in your life. Although, if you’re going to be driving in someone else’s car, make sure they’re okay with it and that you have your L plates and learner licence.

ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT FAKING YOUR LOGBOOK HOURS? THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULDN’T.

If we were trying to scare you, we would tell you that you would get caught if you faked your logbook hours. And that there would be devastating consequences.
We would tell you that there’s a fine up to $6600 and that you would be taking an unnecessarily dangerous risk.
But the truth is, there are many people who fake their logbook hours and don’t get caught.
We understand that it’s extremely tempting to cut corners because you just want to pass your driving test to get it over and done with. It’s exciting to be able to finally drive alone. To finally be able to drive without your parents watching your every step.
We’re not going to say that you’re cheating yourself by faking your logbook hours or anything like that.
But what we do care about is safety. What’s more important than being able to drive on your own, is to be able to on your own safely.

Driving More Makes You A Safer Driver

There’s a reason the legal number of hours you need is 120. It’s not because the Government wants to make it as hard as possible for you to drive on your own.
It’s because there’s a shocking amount of P-Plate drivers who crash. It’s actually 30 times more likely for a P-Plate driver to crash and 3 times more likely that they’re injured or killed.
That’s why we recommend you do the whole 120 hours. And we understand that it might be difficult. It’s time-consuming and you just want to finally drive around with your friends.
But every hour that you practice driving is an improvement in your driving.
The reason why P-Plate drivers crash is because their driving skills haven’t fully sunk into their intuition.
To put it more simply, you can’t learn to drive by reading a driver’s manual. You need to practice until you intuitively learn all the safe driving habits.

The Importance of Safe Driving Habits

At LTrent, we’re dedicated to creating these habits. We want you to check your blind spot when you’re changing lanes without thinking ‘I’m changing lanes so I need to check my blind spot’.
We want your habits to be so ingrained in your driving that you’ll check your blind spot automatically whenever you’re changing lanes.
We want you to be able to park safely without worrying about how you’re going to fit your car into that tiny parking spot.
We want the roads to be filled with confident drivers not because they think they’re good drivers because they passed the driving test — but because they truly understand the habits of safe drivers.
It’s only through driving more that these habits become automatic and every hour that you do contributes towards building these habits.
We aren’t just dedicated to helping you pass your driving test. We want to make sure that every hour you do after you’ve completed your logbook hours is safe.
There’s a reason LTrent’s students have a 28% higher chance of passing the driving test than other schools. We don’t simply focus on what’s needed to pass the driving test.
We understand the habits that create a safe driver and we help our students build these habits.
Our students don’t just pass the driving test. Our students are safer drivers.
Start driving safe now. Book A Lesson or Buy A Voucher

When you first get behind the wheel, it can be an overwhelming experience. There’s just so many things you have to learn. Reverse parking, lane changing, hill starts — there’s quite a bit to think about.
The last thing you want to do is damage your car or god forbid — injure yourself.
That’s why it’s important to get a car that will not only keep you safe but be a practical medium for you to learn in. Getting the right car will enhance your learning environment, help you become a better driver and prepare you for your driving test.
Of course, every person will have a different style or brand they prefer. But there are certain features that make a car easier to use than others.
Let’s first start by looking at what driving instructors recommend. Typically, we’ll see driving schools and instructors using hatchbacks or sedans.

Why?

Size

Smaller cars are preferred for learner drivers. The key manoeuvres you have to learn to pass your driving test are kerb-side parking, three-point turns and reverse parallel parking.
These maneuvers are much easier to navigate in a smaller car because you’re more able to fit into cramped parking spots.
You might argue that if you learned how to do it in a larger car, then you can do it in a smaller car. But it’s much easier to start off with a smaller car, not worry about crashing the car next to you and then move on to larger cars once you become more experienced.
We consider small to medium hatchbacks and sedans to be optimal for learning.

Safety rating

It’s no myth that the more experienced a driver is, the better they are. In fact, P-Plate drivers are 30 times more likely to crash and 3 times more likely to be injured in a crash.
That’s why safety is an incredibly important component when it comes to choosing a car. Each car is equipped with an Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) rating which features multiple tests including the frontal offset test, side impact test and pole impact test.
We recommend cars with a 5 ANCAP rating.

Price

If you’re a new driver, it’s likely that you’re going to be buying a car that isn’t on the high-end of the price scale. Don’t let this be discouraging though, as this is a blessing in disguise.
Newer cars tend to be jam-packed with features that help you drive such as reverse cameras and blind-spot monitoring. If you aren’t learning in a car with these features, you’ll pick up driving habits that will make up for these features. Once learnt, you’ll be able to drive safely in any car without these features!
Insurance is also an overlooked cost when buying a car. If you purchase a more expensive car, your insurance will also be increased.

With these recommendations, check out a range of cars and find the one that’s most suitable for you and your driving needs.
All of our driving instructor vehicles are suitable for any learner’s skill level to drive safely and competently.